Most People Don't Care

You're very much right. I care very much, more so for the animal life lost. People that do care in America however care more about things which can be replaced like jobs or vacations. If you notice, they continuously say "oh, MY beaches are ruined!" It's not YOUR beach, it's the living/mating space for other things in this world which thrive. A fraction of the people who do care (which is small) actually care about this side. Boycott groups don't do anything.

I believe the problem stems from a couple things. One being dividedness. There is really no such thing as an ethnic American other than probably a Native American I guess. We have so many immigrants and factions which are divided that we don't have a common culture to unite the country. Couple this with aggressive capitalism, a dumbing down of the system and many stupid people captivated by who won some idiotic reality show and you've got the solution.

I wish I lived in a country where everyone knew what was going on and didn't just treat this as some blurb. I wish the activist groups practiced what they preached. I wish there were people dumping dead bodies of the wildlife at offender locations to show their disgust. I wish people would start realizing their has been energy efficient vehicles for sometime but think there isn't due to their nature of trusting everything the govt says.

reply to post by franklin555


Well, I live in Eurpoe and I can tell you that your girlfriend must have been talking to morons! We all know Obummer is dragging his feet on this one and frankly, are baffled as to why! There is a bit of a media blackout in the Murdock Times (see the Sun et al ) , but the BBC and other media sources are pretty much on top of the situation. i would be surprised if the same weren't true throughout Europe, from speaking to some of my European friends.

I think Mike Ruppert aka Collapse put it best.

We know the Titanic is sinking.
We also know there isn't enough life boats.
You will have to ask yourself at that most critical time, which of the three categories of people will you include yourself in or help ?????

type 1: Oh My God, there are not enough lifeboats and the ship is sinking fast what do i do????? typical deer in the headlights.

type2: Oh My God, there are not enough lifeboats and the ship is sinking fast,what can I make a lifeboat from??????

type3: Oh My God, are you kidding me? laughing. The Titanic cannot sink,it is unsinkable, I don't need a lifeboat. I am going back to the bar for a drink.


Mister

Theres a lot of people here in Michigan that don't even know theres an oil spill. Most people are so worried about keeping their jobs that the have tunnel vision.

My genius aunt and uncle went to Florida for vacation and saw no oil on their little area of beach. So they let their kids swim in it and now are telling everyone that this is just a overhyped mess. That is how disinfo is spread.

Originally posted by Mister1k
I think Mike Ruppert aka Collapse put it best.

We know the Titanic is sinking.
We also know there isn't enough life boats.
You will have to ask yourself at that most critical time, which of the three categories of people will you include yourself in or help ?????

type 1: Oh My God, there are not enough lifeboats and the ship is sinking fast what do i do????? typical deer in the headlights.

type2: Oh My God, there are not enough lifeboats and the ship is sinking fast,what can I make a lifeboat from??????

type3: Oh My God, are you kidding me? laughing. The Titanic cannot sink,it is unsinkable, I don't need a lifeboat. I am going back to the bar for a drink.


Mister

Classic!

Although I think you forgot one:

The Titanic has sunk, I don't have a lifeboat and I'm surrounded by sharks. Oh well, keep swimming, nothing I can do about it now, but who the hell do I blame for this?

Probably just a British mindset that one!

Of course people "don't care" simply because this situation isn't the end of the world, no matter how much you doom-mongers and chicken-littlers want it to be.

Yes, its bad for the wildlife etc, but why should people far away from this incident worry about it? It's not a matter of being ignorant, or stupid, or any other derogatory names that you like to call people who don't believe in your doomsday scenarios. It's simply that, like any other disaster, whether man-made or natural, it really is of no consequence to people who aren't directly affected. It doesn't mean we don't feel sad for people/animals that have died in a disaster - of course we do. But disasters happen all the time, this one's no different.

Try telling a family in drought-ridden Africa that they should be worrying about the oil spill.
Try telling a homeless person who sleeps in a cardboard box that they should be worrying about the oil spill.
Try telling a man who's just been made redundant and faces losing his home, that he should be worrying about the oil spill.
Try telling a woman who's just been told she has cancer, that she should be worrying about the oil spill.

Fact of the matter is, no matter how much you might want to deny it, people *do* have their own problems, that are often a lot more pressing than something happening on the other side of the world. If you're lucky enough not to have any worries or problems in your life so that you can focus only on the oil spill, then good for you.

And as for boycotting BP? What a load of nonsense. If BP were the cheapest garage where I live, I'd use them. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way not to use them. Why should I take part in risking the livelihoods of BP employees? It isn't their fault that the spill happened, any more than it is a driver's fault for using a car. How will potentially bankrupting a company and making their employees lose their jobs help anything?

I know this post will likely fall on deaf ears or I'll be called a disinfo agent or BP employee (as if I need to be paid to have an opinion that doesn't involve the end of the world ) but I just have to say it. "Mother Earth" isn't dying, or bleeding, or crying or any other nonsense. It's a planet, which is more than capable of taking care of itself and has done for billions of years.

In a year, or maybe two, this situation will be gone and there'll be another big world disaster for you folks to scream about with your overly dramatic thread titles.

I so agree with the OP. I live in Fl and even people down here mostly don't care. We organized a drilling protest on our east coast beach town, and though there were thousands on the beach, few joined us, and many even giggled at us.

So here we have the worst environmental criminals (BP) being allowed to destroy a good part of the planet, and the world sits around like helpless mannequins. The government lets these guys continue to spray their toxic brew, and dosen't even assemble a panel of scientists to advice and oversee the operation.

We have an elementary school science experiment taking place by thugs with serious repercussions to the planet, and with only a couple of periphery scientists involved. We may have iphones, space shuttles, mighty armies, thousand year old civilizations and the like, but our societies are essentially built of straw. If this is not an eye opener, NOTHING WILL BE.

Here is one of the few scientists involved.
Gulf’s “looming future as the next Black Sea” (Dr. Samantha Joye)


[edit on 2-7-2010 by whatsup]

Only after the last tree has been cut down
Only after the last river has been poisoned
Only after the last fish has been caught
Only then will you discover you cannot eat money

-- Cree prophecy
_______________________________________

Treat the earth well.
It was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.

Ancient Indian Proverb
_________________________________________

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.

Chief Seattle, 1854

reply to post by Tha Girl They Call Roc


So does this mean that when the west coast falls off the map with the mega quake coming in September 2010 we should care about them?
They'll be singing a different tune then....

reply to post by Tha Girl They Call Roc


I haven't yet read any of the thread, but I read your OP and had to respond.

I have been talking to people about this since 1994 when I got introduced to listening to Bill Cooper.
Say what you will about the guy.
He drank.
He liked guns.
He predicted 9/11.
He was killed by the Feds two months after the event.

And you could not be more correct.
Most people don't care. Most people see their sphere of reality and want to stay inside of that bubble of candy coated, pop-culture protection.
That includes most of us here on ATS.

Internet Commandos.

But making a difference simply means helping someone else relish the experience of living... of breathing.
Relief of pressure, anxiety and stress coupled with a change of behaviors and of core values might make the life of everyone better and maybe we, and when I say we I mean the entire population and planet as one being, are becoming truly aware of ourselves.

Those that care, and show it through their behaviors are the saviors/messiahs that every religion looks to for guidance and safety.

Who cares if no one else cares as long as you care enough to show it.

Who cares if no one else cares

The average American is a worthless idiot that deserves to be a slave and will be a slave.

reply to post by nik1halo

I was just referring to that one sentence about fuel (or just driving) being cheaper in US because shareholders are not British. It doesn't even have anything to do with BP, ALL fuel is cheaper. Regardless of BP shareholder's nationality. That's all I was trying to say .

Well I don't know who all these "West Coast" people you are talking about but I live in San Francisco and most everyone I talk to is outraged about the Spill. I don't think I have run into anyone who has just shrugged it off.

And I for one WILL Boycott BP as well as Arco, AM/PM and Safeway Gas who get get their Gas from BP. I don't think they should even be allowed to BE in the gulf anymore. Its like having a drunk driver crash into you and then letting them perform the surgery to save your life. Its crazy.

AllInMyHead

reply to post by Strings


OUCH!

I would have to say that's a little harsh dont you think? I bet you have some of the same apathy where you are. I know we do in Canada but not quite as abundant as other places.

In some senses I do see how Americans can become so lazy towards how their country is run. 2 parties (Literally Parties). I guess Ross Perot looks at lot better now?

Hi all, gotta say as a concerned aussie im not getting much interest from people i discuss the matter with. Most dont beleive me when i discribe the severity of the issue, the media here down play it. Last nights news even said that a potential tropical storm would help disperse the oil. I worry about the future of the residents in the immediate area, could be time to start packing, it may be time for a trip downunder!

I don't have anyone offline to talk about this with, mostly because of apathy, but one instance is due to extreme empathy. It goes both ways. One of my friends says she is very concerned, but can't manage to look at more than an article or two a day, and refuses to discuss it in depth with me. She says it overwhelms her and hurts her deeply. I must be becoming desensitized to the doom as well. I can observe and understand the severity of this situation, yet not be overwhelmed and still keep my cool. I'm not so sure that's a good thing anymore. Shouldn't I be overwhelmed by such a monstrosity?

I think the people that REALLY don't care are the ones that want drilling to continue out in the gulf. I know that if I cared, I wouldn't want them out there drilling holes in mother Earth, risking karmic repercussions such as what has happened.

Hmm, I wonder why people don't care...

We certainly communicate more then ever...

But so little of it face to face, we are losing touch with Empathy.

Its about ME

There is a group of us here in Oregon that care. We are angry that we don't see more news coverage and disgusted that it appears the government is delaying clean-up efforts.

Fortunately, I have not experienced apathy the same way you have. Where I live, everyone is just trying to hold on. We have open discussions regarding our concern about the BP disaster, but I must admit they are fleeting. We have our own trials and tribulations, so I guess it is still apathy. What can we do?

I am barely scraping by...I just landed a new job after a year and a half of unemployment making half what I used to make and I am attempting to rebuild some semblance of life. I don't own an iPod, iPad, or iPhone...I certainly have no money for such gadgets. I have the bare necessities and a laptop with internet as my one splurge. I use that most of the time as a means of more income as a freelance writer.

Not everyone who exudes a level of apathy doesn't care...some of us are just overwhelmed by things a little closer to home. Not an hour goes by in the day when I'm don't think about it and worry about the state of the world right now. It's the worst it's ever been.